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TOWN
OF WEST STOCKBRIDGE, BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS
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INCORPORATED
1775 |
Town
Hall
- 9 Main Street - (413) 232-03010
Open - Monday thru Friday 9 AM to 4 PM
Annual Town Meeting - 1st Monday in May
Selectmen's Meeting Dates, Time & Place: Every Wednesday
At the Fire Station - 24 Albany Road
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West
Stockbridge
lies
midway of the western border of Berkshire County and of the
State, 162 miles west of Boston. The Boston and Albany Railroad
crosses the northwest corner, having a station at State Line
(village), where it forms a junction with the west branch of
the Housatonic Railroad. The latter follows up the valley of
William's River through the eastern section, having a station
at Williamsville, in the south, and another at West Stockbridge
Village, in the northeast.
Rawson's Brook, flowing northward, and Wilson's Brook southward,
drain the western section. The former, with Cone and Griffin
brooks from the north, unite at West Stockbridge Village, forming
a mill-pond, from which issues William's River, a tributary
of the Housatonic. West and northwest of this village are Crane
(or Great Quapan Kuk), Cranberry (or Small Quapan Kuk), and
Mud (or Gilder) ponds. The town is bounded by Richmond on the
north, Stockbridge on the east, Great Barrington and Alford
on the south, and by Austerlitz, in New York, on the west. The
assessed area is 11,353 acres; of which 2,903 are forests embracing
a large variety of the trees common to the region. The land
is rough and broken, and includes a part of the Teutonic range
of mountains. The scenery is picturesque and pleasing. Levis
limestone and Lauzon schist form the rock-basis of the town;
and hematite, fibrous pyrolusite, and spathic iron occur. White-veined
and clouded marble is found in abundance, and large quantities
are wrought for exportation. Many large and handsome edifices
have been constructed partially or wholly from this material;
among which is the celebrated Girard College, in Philadelphia.
In 1885, 78 men were employed in mining the iron-ore. The principal
manufactories consisted of half a dozen mills making horse-feed,
meal and flour, and lumber,. Other manufactures were lime, carpetings,
cotton articles, paper goods, furniture, leather, clothing,
carriages and machinery and metallic goods. The value of the
manufactures in 1885 was $125,174. The value of the product
of the 121 farms was $133,681. The Miners' Savings Bank, in
this town, at the close of last year, hold deposits to the amount
of $93,403. The population was 1,648; of whom 343 were legal
voters. The valuation in 1888 was $661,684, with a tax-rate
of $16 on $1,000. The number of assessed dwelling-houses was
365. There are a good town-hall and eight public school-houses;
the latter valued at some $10,000. The high school library contains
about 200 volumes. The churches are one each of the Congregationalist,
Methodist, Episcopal and Roman Catholic. The post-offices are
West Stockbridge Village, West Stockbridge Centre, State Line,
and Rockdale Mills. The other villages are Four Corners, Leet
Ore Bed and Williamsville.
This town was taken from Stockbridge and incorporated, February
23, 1774. A church was organized June 1,1789, and the Rev.
Oliver Ayers was the first regular pastor. John S. Stone,
D.D. (b. 1795), author of "The Living Temple," and
other works; and Marcius Willson (b. 1813), an author
of a series of readers and other school text-books, were natives
of West Stockbridge.
Pp.
694-695 in Nason and Varney's Massachusetts Gazetteer, 1890
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RESOURCE
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CONTRIBUTOR |
ABBREVIATION
KEY AND SOURCE INFORMATION: West
Stockbridge, Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850. Originally
published in 1907 by the New England Historic Genealogical
Society this item is assumed to be in the public domain
and has been reproduced here. Available now are the Birth,
Marriage and Death Records. Be sure to take a look at the
abbreviation key and source
information. Contributed by Claire Smith.
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Courtesy
of Claire Smith and Laurel O'Donnell
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From
Early Massachusetts Marriages Prior to 1800 By Frederick
W. Bailey,
Worcester, MA 1914 |
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Courtesy
of Claire Smith and Laurel O'Donnell
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Courtesy
of Claire Smith and Laurel O'Donnell
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CEMETERIES
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Rockdale
Cemetery |
see
South Cemetery |
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Saint
Patricks Cemetery |
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Slauter
Cemetery |
see
South Cemetery |
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South
Cemetery |
aka
Rockdale, aka Slauter Cemetery |
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West
Center Cemetery |
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West
Stockbridge Cemetery |
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MAPS
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MILITARY
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Please
send your West Stockbridge-related photos for posting!
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